Page 46 - Judge Manual 2017

Contents Page

H Best Practice of the International Jury During the Event

H.1 The Initial Meeting of the Protest Committee H 1
H.1.1 Procedure for Casual Questions from Competitors H 1
H.1.2 Protest Committee Philosophy on Protest
Initiated by the Protest Committee H 2
H.2 Pre-Race Meeting with Race Committee Chairman H 2
H.3 Briefing of Competitors H 3
H.4 Inspection of Boats H 4
H.5 Weighing of Competitors and Clothing H 4
H.6 Communicating with Support Persons H 5
H.7 Communicating with the Media H 5

H.1 The Initial Meeting of the Protest Committee

The more members who arrive during pre-racing activities, the better. At the
latest, all members should be in attendance the day before racing commences.
This allows for the competitors, regatta staff, race management and judges to
get to know each other. It also allows the protest committee to be available to
respond to questions about measurement or equipment inspection or the
Sailing Instructions and other race documentation. If it is not practical for all
members to arrive early, there should be at least a majority of the panel present
including either the chairman or vice chairman.

The entire protest committee should meet on the day before the first race.

The most important duty is a last-minute check of the Sailing Instructions.
Correcting a mistake may avoid many hours spent in later hearings. However,
at this late stage it is important to limit changes to those that are essential
changes.

Any changes thought necessary to the Sailing Instructions must be approved
by the race committee unless the protest committee has been specifically
authorized to initiate changes. Diplomacy during this first interaction is very
important. It is often that a cooperative first experience between the race
committee and the protest committee will lead to respect between the race
committee and the protest committee over the event.

H.1.1 Procedure for Casual Questions from Competitors

Before the event the protest committee should decide how to answer queries
from competitors about a regatta procedure or the rules.

This procedure is recommended for responding to inquiries from competitors
or coaches: